One More Hurdle

This afternoon, Tessa went back to Riding Buddy's place for the rest of the winter, which means that my little baby mule (who is just shy of 8 months old now) got weaned for reals today. 

We've been working on separation a bit here and there, but I only have the one barn so he wasn't really weaned.  Now, he is looking for mommy, who stepped into a big, red box and disappeared. 

Meanwhile, mommy is out visiting with her beloved Hawkeye and a new boyfriend, Sammy.  She has her hooves full and is not worrying about her offspring.

  She got all prettied up before she left

Speaking of hooves, she even got a full pedicure before she left, which Qilin felt the need to inspect in great detail (Ramsey has a fascination with hooves and, apparently, so does Qilin.  It must be a donkey thing as I have never seen horses do this, but have heard of a few other donkeys and mules who do).

Another step in the growing up stage and it went very smoothly.  Qilin had a very brief temper tantrum when I led Tess to the trailer and left him behind, but I came back, tied him up and gave him a good grooming and some extra hay and he settled right down.  I have gotten to hear his odd, rather mystical sounding Qilin Call (a cross between a unicorn and dragon is about as good a description of that sound as you can get) a number of times today, but there has been no other drama. 

The fact that Qilin is almost 8 months old helps a great deal.  I believe strongly that babies should not be weaned too early unless there is a pressing health related reason to do so.  Six months is the earliest I would do it and later is better, especially if you have a good mom like Tessa teaching him how to behave.  At eight months, with a herd of donkeys to keep him company, it is no big deal deal.

Checking the Hives

The herd generally ignores the beehives. Recently however, I occasionally see them take an intense, but quiet, interest in the remaining hive....

This is a new phenomenon.  Other than some mildly wary curiosity, they have mostly ignored the hives all summer.  They paid no mind when the bees were making honey and all the air around them smelled deliciously and decadently sweet.  They stayed out of the flight paths and ignored the bees and the bees ignored them.  It is only in the past couple of weeks that something has changed in the hive and it grabs the donkey's attention.  Tessa remains uncaring and oblivious.

This second photo was taken 20 minutes after the first....

There was a third photo just like these 20 minutes later.  Don't ever let it be said that donkeys have short attention spans.

The language of bees is that of pheromones, sound and vibration. What can they be saying that donkeys can hear?

The language of donkeys is that of smell, sound, touch and movement.  Perhaps they have more in common than we can know.

Whatever it is, it must be a very interesting conversation.

Into the Sunset

I finally broke own and bought a new camera, a Cannon S110.  It's not what I wanted to buy, but those pesky financial details got in the way again.  I am having a love/hate relationship with it so far.  It takes great photos in low-light and indoor light, but not so great photos in bright light.  The exact opposite of my last two cameras.  It's loaded down with a bunch of gadgetry like GPS, WiFi and a touch screen that seems totally redundant as it only does the same things that the buttons do.  It makes it nearly impossible to hold the camera without hitting the screen and changing something inadvertently while also making it difficult to change the setting when you actually want to.

I've definitely come to believe that you can take good pictures with just about any camera.  I took some of my most favorite portrait photos of Ramsey a couple weeks ago with my old, broken, scratched, dirty camera that is literally held together with duct tape and can no longer change its focus.  However, I do think this new camera, which is just the "updated" version of my old one has traded some photo quality for useless (to me) gadgets.  I guess that's only to be expected when you buy a the cheap camera.

I've been messing around with it during the day all week and nearly packed it up and sent it back a dozen times.  The colors seem all wrong, everything seems too sharp, but fuzzy at the same time, but then I have a night off from work and evening comes, the light dims and suddenly, I'm not so sure.....

  

Just in case I do send it back, does anybody have any suggestions about a not-too-expensive camera that will fit in my pocket, take great shots day and night and be easy to use?  Oh, and it would be nice if it could cook dinner too.

*sigh* Maybe I am asking for too much.

A Couple of Very Nice Asses

"Hey, are you talk'n about us?"

Family Update

I got another update on the rest of Emma's family and this time I have some pictures!  Dash is doing well and healing nicely.  He went back to Cornell last Friday to have the cast changed again and he is doing well enough that it should be his last trip to Cornell.  The next cast change can be done at home and after that, he may not need it anymore. 

Mom and Dad, now known as Poncho and Petunia, are enjoying their new home and are much loved.  Petunia is the lovely blond lying in the straw while Poncho stands guard. 

Petunia is expecting another baby this summer.  She has had 5 babies in the last 5 years and hopefully, this will be her last.  She is a wonderful mother and Emma and Dash prove that these two make wonderful babies, but enough is enough.  For all that she has been nursing and gestating continually for years now, she was the donkey in the best condition when I first met them.  She is made of strong stuff and is sweet and friendly as a warm Spring day.  A beautiful donkey in every way.

Poncho was in the poorest condition, he was very thin and tormented by flies, lice and mites.  He was covered in scabs and open sores on his legs.  His feet were some of the worst I have ever seen.  It is very good to see him standing here squarely on all four feet, with good food, a good barn, a good friend.  A good home.

A Conspiracy is Hatched

"Hey Ma, we're ready for breakfast"

"If you open this door a bit more you could just lay everything out buffet style.  It would be much less work for you, honest.  You know we're always trying to find ways to help out...."

Emma: "C'mon Tess, you're the big one, can't you get this door open?"
Tessa: "You're the smartest one Em, show me where to push..."

Spoiling His Fun

Gabe has been driving me nuts lately, pulling hay out of the manger and making an unholy mess out of it.  I don't mind using a bit of the coarse leftovers for bedding, but wholesale destruction is just too much.  So, I made it a little harder.....

My only complaint about Gabe is that he is a slob.  Granted, I was totally spoiled by Tessa and Emma as neither of them would ever go to the bathroom in the barn.  In fact, I have been spoiled for years as the mares I had before were also very neat.  Actually, every mare I have ever owned has been neat and every gelding a slob.  I know there are exceptions, but I haven't ever owned any of them.  With the girls, I got to spend a lot more time actually doing stuff with them because I never had to clean the barn.  Gabe has changed that.  I think this sums up the differences quite well....

It is astonishing to me just how thoroughly and completely he can trash the barn in just a few hours.  I have learned though, that he isn't so keen on trashing the place when there isn't bedding for him to throw around. 

Emma is the only one who actually sleeps in the barn and she now has her own (very clean and tidy) place to sleep.  So, I have embarked on a mission to ruin all of Gabe's fun.  He is just going to have to find another way to amuse himself, because I just can't stand (or afford) to have him waste half a bale of hay every day.  (I keep telling him there are donkeys (and every other type of herbivore) starving in Texas, but does he listen???) 

If I have to, I can add more bars to the manger or go all out and make it into a slow feeder system with a grate over it.  We'll see how this goes for now.  So far, Gabe is not happy with it at all.  Which I take to be a good sign. :)

Sunday Stills

There is a photography website I found recently called www.sundaystills.wordpress.com.  Every week they put up a photography challenge with an example and other bloggers can accept the challenge and post their own photos.  I haven't participated much because my photography skills (if you could call them that) are limited to pointing my camera at something and pushing the button.  For every one of these good pictures, I have at least a hundred that I hope no one ever sees.  I am trying to do better and actually learn what those settings on my camera do.  I like the Sunday Stills challenges because it gives me one simple thing to try to do each week and provides some basic directions.

A couple of weeks ago, I even bought a copy of Photoshop Elements when they sent me a super sale offer.  However, I am finding that software to be a bit um, challenging.  I have no doubt it can do miracles with photos but, don't hold your breath waiting to see Photoshop wonders here.  In fact, you shouldn't even put off a menial, boring chore you have been successfully avoiding waiting for me to master the wonders of Photoshop.

If you want to see some great photography and "meet" some wonderful critters at the same time, you should check out  www.the7msnranch.com.  She takes some great photos and her subjects are wonderful.  My photography requires more of the "it's the thought that counts" attitude.  Still, I have taken a few photos that I particularly like and when I saw that this week's Sunday Stills challenge was pets, I figured I'd have to jump in.  Tanner features rather heavily here for the simple reason that he has been here the longest and I have had more opportunity to get a decent shot of him.  So, in no particular order, here are some of my favorite pet photos (untouched by Photoshop and likely to remain that way:)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Dashing Donkey!

You may recall that Emma came from a not-so-good home, that she has a baby brother and parents with severely neglected feet (find the whole story here and here).  Well, baby brother has gone to his new home and finally has a real name.  Say hello to Dash (Isn't that just the best name for such a dashing fellow, I love it)!

Dash is doing great in his new home.  In true donkey style, he has charmed the whole barn and loves dashing up and down the aisle ways. 

That isn't the end of the good news though.  Finally giving in to pressure from me and Dash's new person, the owner of these donkeys has agreed to sell the jack and jenny as well.  They are going together to their new home this week where they will get the care and attention they are so deserving of. 

It really doesn't take much to have a to have a big impact on the lives of animals.  A little time, a little effort and four (FIVE if you count jenny's next baby, as I am sure she is pregnant again) have wonderful new lives.  Yeah for the donkeys!

Consolation prize

I had to pick up my car from the repair shop on Monday, it was a very painful experience since the car needed a new transmission and a bunch of other stuff that added up to $3100.  GULP!  I really agonized over whether I should even put the money into this vehicle as it getting up there in age and miles but, a brief foray into what a new-used car would cost made the decision for me.  This car just has to keep going for a few more years. 

A friend dropped me off at the shop but, the car wound up being not quite ready so I had a couple of hours to kill.  Tanner was with me and anxious to get out of there as the sounds of the air guns frighten him so we decided to go exploring in the hills behind the shop.  We hiked up a long hill and stumbled onto a long ridge of exposed rock full of little caves and crevices.

  We spent the next hour or so exploring and poking about all the little nooks and crannies

 

 We found lots of nifty hiding places...

 And interesting caves I couldn't fit into... 

 We found a cozy den...

 Porcupines I think...

And a few holes you wouldn't want to fall into....

 

All in all, we had a lot of fun and I would never have found the place if my car wasn't broken.  It still seems like a horribly expensive way to discover new places but at least it was  a bit of consolation and its a good thing that donkeys don't cost all that much to feed.